


Warmth

by SirPrize



Category: Carmilla (Web Series), Carmilla - All Media Types
Genre: Ex-vampire - Freeform, F/F, Mortality, Season 3, Snuggling, finale
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-10-23
Updated: 2016-10-23
Packaged: 2018-08-24 06:32:23
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,958
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8361043
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SirPrize/pseuds/SirPrize
Summary: Carmilla's mortality is an adjustment both for her and her tiny girlfriend. Laura finds herself pondering what it's changed about her broody lover and what it's left the same as they lay cuddled up together after climbing out of the pit.





	

**Author's Note:**

> A shout-out to my lovely beta smartassducky for putting up with the times my brain skips ahead of what I've actually written down!...And the times it does things that even I can't explain, looking back on it later.
> 
> Anyway, got another one-shot for ya, creampuffs! I couldn't just let this be, now could I? 
> 
> I hope you'll enjoy reading!

Carmilla wasn’t cold. You might think so, considering she was…circulation impaired, but she was generally just a little above room temperature. Off-putting to some, maybe, but Laura considered that a hasty judgement.

It didn’t take into account the softness of Carmilla’s skin. It didn’t take into account how she’d lean into any gentle touch, desperate for affection like anyone else. It certainly didn’t take into account how she’d softly purr and then spend a solid hour denying it. That’s not even mentioning cuddling with her in panther form.

It had to be her vampiric nature that made her fur that soft. That couldn’t be natural.

To be perfectly honest, the lack of heartbeat and breathing had disturbed Laura at first. There was a deeply ingrained instinct that rebelled and warned her of danger when it noticed something that was seemingly alive being so still.

Eventually she grew used to it. She even came to like it, because it was part of Carmilla. Besides, it meant that when she found a comfortable spot to rest her head while she snuggled into Carmilla, there was absolutely no reason to move, which was good, because Carmilla had a tendency to run her fingers through Laura’s hair, and it was one of the most soothing things in the world.

And then it got better.

Carmilla’s skin was still flawless and soft. She still leaned into gentle touches and she still purred, but she was so warm now. A slowly burning fire had been relit beneath her skin and she seemed to glow with life. She was warm and soft and perfect and alive. Carmilla was truly alive.

Laura felt like she couldn’t be close enough. She wanted to crawl beneath her skin and bask in that warmth forever.

That being said, it wasn’t her favorite new thing about being with Carmilla.

That was the sound.

Slow, deep, and steady.

Speeding up slightly as Laura nuzzled her neck.

It skipped a beat when curious fingers traced an artery down to her thighs and lingered on bare, still slightly sticky skin.

With her head resting on Carmilla’s chest, both of them completely naked and entwined in the bed of a commandeered dorm room, Laura decided that the sound of Carmilla’s heartbeat was the best new addition to cuddling with Carmilla. Hell, it was probably her new favorite thing in general.

It had certainly been fun as far as sex was concerned. Their first time ‘post-rebirth’ had been anything but slow. In fact, they’d barely made it inside before Carmilla had all but thrown Laura into a bathroom and fucked her senseless against the wall three times before the tiny journalism major finally got a chance to repay the favour.

It was hard and fast. It was messy and desperate. It was more of a way to voice everything that mere words could never hope to convey. It was perfection.

They were both near tears at the end and sat there naked on the bathroom floor, just holding each other. The sound of Carmilla’s heartbeat slowing from a fast pitter-patter to a slow, measured beat as she calmed down would forever be etched into Laura’s memory.

It sounded like relief, like the universe was finally, finally giving them a break.

The aftermath was kind of awkward, though. They’d had to go out for ice cream with Laura’s father without underwear, which was mortifying enough without Carmilla pressing her foot against the seam of Laura’s jeans under the table.

Their second time ‘post-rebirth’ had been pretty hard and messy too, but it wasn’t like they could count on the Baskin-Robbins bathroom staying empty forever.

They finally had time to be slow and gentle that evening, after Carmilla had glared at the freshman cowering in the dorm room until she’d left, and they’d been wrapped around each other since. Nothing really needed to be said. They finally had time to just…be.

Laura’s eyes slowly trailed over Carmilla’s form, eyes lingering on her chest and the way it slowly rose and fell with her breathing. God, she’d never thought something so simple could be so beautiful, but seeing Carmilla do it left her dazed.

Carmilla was alive. They were both alive!

Sure, that meant she’d lose Carmilla one day, but she’d seen what becomes of those who refused to deal with loss. Everyone had their time and, until then, they had each other. It was everything two mere mortals could ask for, really.

“Hey.” Carmilla cooed, brushing her fingers against Laura’s cheek.

It was only then that she realized she was shaking and her vision was blurry. She blinked and more tears rolled down her cheeks to replace the ones Carmilla had just brushed away.

“I thought we’d agreed there would be no more crying.” The ex-vampire murmured, trailing gentle kisses down the tear tracks.

“Happy tears.” Laura sobbed, pulling her lover impossibly closer. “They’re happy tears because you’re warm and alive and I can hear your heart and I just love you more than I have ever or will ever love anything.”

A shiver ran down the dark-haired girl’s spine.

“You’re everything.” She muttered, closing her eyes as she rested their foreheads together. “Mortal or not, I would give you the moon. For you, I would tear down the sun and use it to smite the gods themselves like it was my sanctified mace.”

A strangled laugh left Laura’s throat.

“Please don’t. We finally got at least one of them to sort of like us.” She rested her head back on Carmilla’s chest, settling in to sleep with the soothing sound of her lover’s strong heartbeat in her ears. “Let’s just…stay like this for a while.”

“Anything for you.” Carmilla smiled indulgently as she pulled the blankets over both of them.

They lay in comfortable silence for a while, basking in each other’s warmth when Laura finally voiced the question that had lingered in the back of her mind ever since Carmilla had banged her shin earlier that day. She was hardly clumsy, even without the unnatural vampiric grace, but Laura had never seen Carmilla bump into anything. Or bruise, for that matter. That last part got to her most of all and apparently Carmilla too, as she kept looking at it with a strange expression all day.

“Will you miss it?” She mumbled into Carmilla’s chest. “Being a vampire? I know you didn’t choose to give it up.”

Slender fingers stilled in her hair for a moment as Carmilla froze but, to her tiny lover’s relief, they soon continued.

“Yes and no.” Carmilla answered with the air of someone very carefully picking her words. “I’ll miss the obvious things, of course, the strength, the speed, an eternity to look this good.” She gestured at her naked body and earned herself and an eye roll from Laura.

Chuckling, the ex-vampire continued. “But…I’m glad I can age with you now. It’s maybe not the future I imagined for us, but…I think it could be better.” She tilted Laura’s chin up so she could look her in the eye. “I can love you when I’m 18. I can love you when I’m 20. I can love you when I’m 85 and so deaf I can’t even hear you babble.”

Laura giggled and pressed a kiss to Carmilla’s wrist.

The dark-haired girl gave her a small smile. “I just…I know you don’t need to be protected, Cupcake, but I liked knowing that I could. Now that I can’t, or not in the same way at least, I think I’ll miss that power every now and then.” She chuckled wryly. “Mainly because I doubt you’re done attracting trouble.”

Laura’s expression softened and she raised her girlfriend’s hand to her lips, placing gentle kisses on each finger.

“I don’t need to be protected, you’re right.” She began. “But I’m glad you want to, because I want to protect you too. Because I love you and I never want to lose you or leave you. Maybe we should just agree to watch each other’s backs, okay?”

Carmilla swallowed thickly and nodded. “Okay.”

Laura smiled and placed her lover’s hand on her cheek. “What _did_ the future you had in mind look like anyway? I assume it wasn’t a desperate last stand as the world literally went to hell, because that’s romantic and all, but-” She trailed off with an affronted noise when the hand left her cheek and covered her mouth instead.

“God, you’d think the sex would’ve tired you out.” Carmilla muttered, looking oddly red. Laura almost thought she was _blushing_. “It was stupid.”

A silent battle of wills unfolded as Laura’s unimpressed look at that non-answer clashed with Carmilla’s annoyed glare at having to give it in the first place, both of them willing the other to just give in. The ex-vampire was the one to fold first.

“Ugh! It was…longer, okay?” Carmilla muttered, pointedly looking at anything but the tiny girl using her chest as a pillow. She was now so red that she had to be blushing, which was a sight in and of itself, but Laura was more preoccupied with the strange answer.

“Longer?” She asked. “What’s that supposed to mean? Carm, unless you know when you’re supposed to die I don’t think-” The noise she made when realization hit was something between a gasp and the yelp of a startled puppy. Instantly she went bright red and her usual eloquence went right out of the window. “O-oh. Oooh. _Oh! Longer,_ right.” She sounded high-pitched and squeaky even to her own ears.

How could she not, though? What Carmila was suggesting was huge. It was insane. It was kind of everything, really. It blew Laura’s mind, the thought that someone would want her around for that long. It was humbling to feel that loved.

“Cupcake, I swear, if you say ‘oh’ one more time.” Carmilla muttered darkly.

The honey-blonde girl looked up and found Carmilla looking more mortified than after admitting that she had actually been hitting on Laura while tied to a chair in their dorm room. She couldn’t help but smile.

“Carm.”

“Yeah, yeah, I know.” She grumbled, still not looking at Laura. “Eternity’s a long time. Blame it on the whole vampire thing. We’re possessive.” She paused and frowned. “I guess I should say they’re possessive now.”

With an annoyed sigh Laura crawled up and leaned over Carmilla, letting her hair form a curtain around them and effectively ensuring the ex-vampire couldn’t look at anything else anymore. “It is a long time.” Her tone was teasing, but her smile was shy and happy. “But, if you’re sure you won’t get tired of me, I’d like that. I’d very much like an eternity with you, Carmilla.” Her voice wavered a little near the end.

A small, hesitantly hopeful smile pulled at Carmilla’s lips. “Laura, you don’t know what that means to me.” The smile wavered and she sighed. “But it would’ve been very hard and I can’t even do it anymore now.”

Laura leaned down to peck her on the lips. “Well, I wouldn’t complain about a lifetime with you.” She muttered, leaning in again for a deeper kiss. “But a few months ago, I learned that magic was very real and had all sorts of applications.” Grinning now, she pulled back and looked down on her slightly dazed girlfriend. “Once we’ve managed to make Laf a magic laser eye or something, we’ll see about that eternity, yeah? We’ve got time.”

Carmilla smiled up at her, looking more vulnerable than Laura had ever seen her.

“I-Yeah. Yes, let’s.” Slender arms wrapped around Laura’s neck and tugged her back down. “Now come back here. It’s cold and you’re really warm.”

**Author's Note:**

> So, how was that, creampuffs?
> 
> This one was a little shorter, originally, but I felt it was a bit lacking and soon wound up with about an additional 500 words. XD Well, it's hardly the longest thing I've thrown at your faces.
> 
> ...That sounds wrong on so many levels.
> 
> Anyway, I hope you liked it!
> 
> SirPrize's Shower Thoughts (#3)
> 
> Vampire VS Mortal
> 
> Do you like the idea of Carmilla X Laura more when they're both mortals, when one will live on indefinetely without the other, or if both spend eternity together?
> 
> The fleeting nature of a mortal life is something of a staple theme of vampiric romance fiction and it's actually kind of interesting.
> 
> Many people of course like the idea of the mortal party remaining mortal, even while their vampiric lover cannot age. Understandable, as many people like a bit of tragedy with their romance. After all, if a character never suffers, it's hard to care about them. However, you can make a solid case that in the vampire x human romance this trope is kind of picking the easy route as drama goes and that it basically always hits the exact same notes. 
> 
> Don't get me wrong, there is beauty in tragedy in letting go. However, we've been down that road a lot.
> 
> Say the mortal party chooses eternity. Whereas the previous route was easy drama, this is probably easy fluff. The characters have more time together and there's an inherent romantic note to litterally choosing to be together forever. It's not devoid of drama, as the previously mortal party will have to watch loved ones age and die, but it's a generally happier ending and one with slightly more room for variety.
> 
> Carmilla took an interesting turn in taking the immortal party and actually making her mortal again, which simply isn't possible in most vampire fiction. Interersting as it is, though, I personally felt it was also kinda sappy and outta left field. 
> 
> It's really a question of which principle you prefer. Hanging on or letting go. Do you still think it's better to have loved and lost, when you can take loss out of the equation almost entirely?
> 
> Personally...I prefer eternity. On the one hand because it allows for a bit more variety in how things develop and on the other...it comes down to some pretty depressing math. In the end, would you be able to deal with the loss of people you love, when you could actually spend eternity with the one person you love enough to do so?
> 
> What about you, creampuffs? Eternity or loving and losing?


End file.
